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Ah Pizz, Montclair, NJ Restaurant Review - Best Pizza

Ah' Pizz if you haven't heard is a fabulous new Italian Restaurant that opened recently in Montclair, NJ. After hearing a lot of good words we finally got to try Ah'Pizz ourself.

While the main focus of the menu here is the 12+ artisan pizzas, to compare Ah' Pizz to any other Pizza joint in Montclair is a mistake. First you wont find any canned tomato sauce on these deliciously crafted pies, they are in another class altogether.

We started with a very fresh and flavorful salad and then had two pies along with two great inexpensive (BYOB) Italian wines. We will be regulars.

Update 7/6/2010. Just back from another great dinner at A'h Pizza with my daughter, wife and parents. Delicious. Five Stars.

When you think about it, Pizza is a pretty simple dish to create. But some are gawd awful, we won't mention any names, and others are sublime mouthfilling delights that you remember for days. There are two keys to the excellent versions, really good ingredients and a stone wood burning oven. Ah' Pizza makes it on both counts.

In their words "The only way to make authentic Pizza Napoletana is in an oven that is heated 100% by wood." So they had their oven made by Neapolitan artisans using stone and volcanic soil direct from Mount Vesuvius in Naples, Italy.

The room is cozy with well spaced tables and you have a great view of the pizza oven and pizzamakers at work.

We started with the "Insalata" salad that was big enough to share. The Arugula was very fresh and criso and had a perfect nutty just out of the garden flavor. That was covered with sweet ripe tomatoes and sharp red onions and generous shavings of a very good Parmigiano Reggiano all lightly coated with a lemon, olive oil, fresh ground pepper dressing.

With that dish we enjoyed a really good Grillo from Sicily called Terre del Grillo made by Alberto Antonini with 100% Grillo an ancient Sicilian varietal. It is carried by a few stores around NJ and sells for under $10. This wine was recommended to me by Debbie Miller Nelson at Joe Canal's in Woodbridge.

This wine has a pretty straw yellow color. It takes a little while to open up and should not be served too cold but once it arrives it has rich flavors of melon, citrus, and apples that are followed with flavors of white fruits and flowers. It was great with the salad and the white pizza we had.

The first pizza we enjoyed was a special of the night. It had a wonderful crust, thin in the center but with puffy edges that accentuated the flavor. This was covered with Caciocavella Cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, fresh green Broccoli and a very tasty browned sausage cut in chunks. It just mellted in the mouth.

Our second was called Pizze Di Montclair which is made of Truffle Oil and Porcini Mushrooms in a mixture of Pecorino Sardo and Parmigiano Reggiano Cheeses, topped with Cherry Tomatoes, Basil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The Truffle Oil was very evident in fragrance and taste.

For our second pie we enjoyed a terrrific red wine called Notro Sangiovese Bonarda 2008 from Argentina. This is a super wine selling fro aroun $7 around NJ. It has rich plumby flavors and is perfect with pizza, red sauce dishes, or burgers. It is an interesting blend of 50% Sangiovese and 50% Bonarda that is produced in the bountiful Mendoza region, Argentina. It is a smooth well balanced medium bodied wine with soft tannins and nice plumb and berry flavors with a bit of earthiness.

Comments

Italian cuisine have a special place in my heart, due to some of the members of my family are Italians, and they usually served me their food when I was a young boy. Every now and then, I bring my wife and kids to the Italian restaurant to share them my roots.